Fire-escape.



' PATENTED JULY 17, 1906.

J. WENIG.

FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20. 19.06.

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PATENTED JULY 17. 1906.

J. WENIG.

FIRE ESCAPE APPLICATION FILED JAN.20.1906.

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UNITED STATES PAEENT oFFIoE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1 7, 1906.

Application filed January 20, 1906. Serial No. 296,997.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN WENIG, a citizen ofv the United States, residing at Mount Pleasant, in the county of Isabella and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention is an improvement in fireescapes, and relates more particularly to that class of fire-escapes in which a tube of canvas the buildin or other suitable material is secured to the building at its upper end and held by suitable means at its lower end, so as to form an inclined or curved chute through which persons may descend from the building to the street.

My improved construction comprises a chute, of canvas or similar material, secured to and operating in the manner above note but havin the additional advantage that not only the upper opening of the chute may be used to receive persons or goods, butalso the intermediate or lower portions of the chute which are opposite the windows of lower stories in the building may be used to receive the occupants of those stories without disconnecting the chute from the fastenings at its upper end.

With these objects in view, together with certain others which will appear later in the specification, my invention consists in the device illustrated in the aocomp anying drawings and the equivalents thereof.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a part-sectional view of a building, showing the chute attached. Fig. 2 is adetail showing the openings provided along the length of the chute to receive persons from the lower stories of the building. Fig. 3 is a detail of the parts shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the means for attaching it to the building. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the interior of the chute,.showing the false curtain; and Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the lower end of the chute, showing the corner-binding.

As is clearly shown in the drawings, the device consists, essentially, in the chute 1, of canvas or e uivalent material, provided at its upper en with a suitable (preferably rectangular) frame 2, of metal or equivalent material, which frame is preferably provided 5 5 with ropes -2 or similar fastenings, secured at their inner ends to the base-board, floor, or other suitable part of the room in which the chute is to be secured by means of hooks, for instance. Pivotally secured to the frame 2 are the links 2*, having hooks or other similar means 2 at their upper ends adapted to engage pinsor equivalent projections 2, carried by the window-frame. The cords or ropes 2 hold the inner end of the frame 2 in place against the window-sill, while the links 2 support the outer end at an incline to the window-opening, leaving the opening of the chute at its'upper end in position to receive the person to be passed to the street below.

To each corner of the frame 2 is secured reinforcing-rope 1 forming, respectively, the four corners of the chute 1. This rope is preferably secured to the corners of the chute by cording or otherwise.

To permit the occupants of the lower stories to enter the chute, I provide a suitable opening 1, adapted to register with such lower windows. The opening 1 is preferably rectangular in form and is ada ted to'be closed by means of the upwardly-folding flap 1. This flap is longer than the opening 1 and overlaps the top of the opening on the outside, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to present no obstruction to the passage of a body through the chute when the opening 1 is not in use. The flap may be closed by any suitable means, as, for illustration, by means of the lacing-hooks 1 and the lacing-cord 1 (Shown in Fig. 3.)

I prefer to reinforce the edges ofthe flap 1 by cording, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and also provide eyelets 1 in the flap to receive hooks 3, fixed to any suitable part of the room at which the opening 1 is to be used. The occupants of this room can step through the window and the opening 1 directly into the chute, the flap 1 serving to not only hold the chute against the window-sill, but also serving to support the weight of the chute and the person passing therethrough.

In order to provide for the contingency that some person in the upper stories may wish to descend the chute after an opening in a lower story has been exposed, I rovide a means, as a false curtain 4, for eac opening, such curtain being secured to the inner face of the chute above the opening and depending to a point below the lower edge of the opening, the curtain being of greater width than the opening and secured along its upper edges, as at 1 1 to the upper ends of the side walls of the opening, whereby to prevent a person descending the chute from an upper story from contacting with the window-sill through a lower opening and falling out of the chute through such opening. At the same time the curtain will yield freely inwardly to permit the entrance of persons into the chute by reason of its fullness.

On the outer face of the chute farthest from the building I may place rounds 5 5, of aluminium or other suitable material, which form a ladder to permit the ascent of firemen or others on the outside of the chute whenever necessary.

I prefer in practice to treat the canvas of the chute by any well-known fireproofing process and to provide any desired number of openings, each opening registering with some exit from the building.

When the chute is not in use, it is lifted or folded from below and the frame 2 is drawn in through the window or other opening. It is then only necessary in case of emergency to throw the chute out of the window and fasten the links 2 in place. The lower end of the chute is seized by persons in the street and drawn out away from the building, so that the chute is suitably inclined. The lower end of the chute is either held in place by firemen or fastened to any convenient support, when it is ready for use.

A fireman or other person may be stationed at the lower end of the chute, especially when the esca e is applied to tall buildings, to close the ower end of the chute as persons are descending therethrough, whereby an air-cushion is formed to prevent injury to the persons in the chute as they descend, the lower end of the chute being opened from time to time to permit the persons to emerge therefrom.

After the occupants of the top story have passed through the chute, preferably entering the chute through the upper end thereof held open by the frame which also serves to hold the chute in extended position, the chute is allowed to sag against the wall until the next lower opening of the chute registers with the corresponding window or exit of the building, whereupon the fastenings of the flap are released and the flap is brought in through the window and fastened, as shown in Fig. 2, after which the occupants of this story can be passed through the chute. Succeeding lower stories of the building can be emptied in the same manner, and bymeans of the curtain 1 any one in the upper stories may escape after the openings in the chute below have been exposed.

While I have shown the frame 2 as being rectangular in form and in one piece, it is obvious that this frame might be of any desired form or made collapsible or adapted to be folded, if desired, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

It is evident that many changes and alterations might be made in the form and arrangements of the several parts described without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and I have merely illustrated one of the many embodiments which my invention may assume. Consequently I do not wish to limit myself to the exact construction herein set forth.

Having fully described my invention,what I claim is 1. A fire-escape comprising a chute provided with openings intermediate its ends, flaps connected to the chute below the openings, the flaps adapted to close the openings and means for removably securing the edges of the flaps to the chute adjacent the openings to close said openings. 1

2. A fire-escape comprising a chute having a series of openings formed in its inner wall, flaps secured to the chute below the openings, the flaps being of a larger area than the openings and adapted to lie thereover, the upper free ends of the flaps when in closed position adapted to overlap the wall of the chute at the upper ends of the openings, and means for removably securing the flap to the wall of the chute in closed position.

3 A fire-escape comprising a chute having a series of openings formed in its inner wall, flaps secured to the chute below the openings, the flaps being of alarger area than the openings and adapted to lie thereover, the upper free ends of the flaps when in closed position adapted to overlap the wall of the chute at the upper ends of the openings, fastenin s carried by the wall of the chute and a flexible means carried by the flaps and adapted to engage the fastening means to removably retain the flaps in closed position over the openings.

4. A fire-escape comprising a flexible chute provided with a series of openings intermediate its ends adapted to register with apertures in a building, flaps secured to the chute at their lower ends and constituting closures for the openings, means for securing 6. In a fire-escape, the combination with a that portion lying across the cut-away porchute having a cut-away portion intermedition. I ate its ends, of a flap lying exteriorly of the In testimony whereof I aflix my signature chute and adapted to close the cut-away in presence of two Witnesses.

portion, means for releasably retaining the JOHN WENIG.

flap over the cut-away portion and a curtain Witnesses: secured interiorly of the chute, above the ROY WALLIS, cut-away portion, the curtain being fulled at RALPH S. WARFIELD. 

